Federal Budget, Corporal Punishment

Simon Crean - Leader of the Opposition

Interview with Greg Cary

Transcript - Radio 4BC - 15 May 2002

E & OE - PROOF ONLY

CARY: I am joined by the Opposition Leader, Simon Crean. Mr Crean, good afternoon.

CREAN: Hi Greg. How are you?

CARY: I'm okay. What's your biggest beef with the Budget?

CREAN: Well, it's the fact that they've put us into deficit when they told us just before the election they would guarantee a surplus. But having put us into deficit they are then making Australian families pay for that deficit, pay for that economic mismanagement, with higher charges for drugs.

CARY: Okay, I guess the obvious questions out of that then - if we are not to be in deficit what would you have done differently? And if others, other, funds that Budget who would have been other than those who are going to find it?

CREAN: All right, now, with the Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme we have to rein in the costs. We've put proposals forward by which you can do that. Some of them the Government has picked up, but not all of them. One particular issue that's still out there on the Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme - is the promotion costs of the drug companies a legitimate charge against the scheme. They cost $800 million a year. Now why is it that we are not looking at better means to rein in those costs rather than slugging Australian families? This is a $6.20 increase for families - each prescription. That's a 30 percent increase for them; it's also a 30 percent increase for concession holders. They just can't afford it. And if you take the case of a family, Greg, a family with three kids - one kid gets the flu; they all get the flu. And what you have got to do, the problem is compounded.

Now when they went to the election they said none of this was going to happen, indeed, they said the opposite. They were going to widen access to the Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme. Now they are slugging people. They guaranteed a surplus. They have failed to deliver on it, and now they are expecting Australian families to pay.

CARY: It's a difficult situation for you though, isn't it, as Opposition Leader? Let's say you get into Government at the next election, do you pledge in your first Budget to reduce the cost of scripts again?

CREAN: What we will be doing is campaigning now to make sure it doesn't go in and to force the Government to look at alternative means by which they can address the burgeoning costs. That is smart government. It's not waiting for three years down the track; it's doing something now.

CARY: But if you can't do it now, if you don't succeed in doing it now, and you don't have the numbers to do it now, would you do it in the first Budget?

CREAN: I am not conceding that issue for one moment yet. I believe this is an issue we have to fight now and that's what I will do. And, also, I've said to the Government in relation to the disability support pension where they are going to put 200,000 people who are seriously disabled, they are going to force them off benefit at the cost of $52 a fortnight, now again, I just don't think that is fair. By all means crack down on the rorters, but don't make our disadvantaged and our families pay for the Government's economic mismanagement.

CARY: Mr Crean, just on the issue of the PBS, which I think in the last 10 years or so far as blown out by about 400 per cent, I take your point that there are areas that can be addressed at the edges, but one of the other contributing factors in that rise of 400 per cent and how would you address them?

CREAN: Well, as I say, a number of measures that we have put forward they have picked up. There are others, one of which I have mentioned and I'm going through the process now of looking at alternative means for that. But I would have thought if I'm signalling a preparedness to sit down with the Government and look at means by which we can curtail the increasing costs of the scheme that would be a far more sensible way to go than slugging families. Why won't the Government look at them? Why is it so intent on slugging families?

CARY: Okay, just a couple of other points out of the Budget. The ongoing war against terrorism that's going to cost us in the vicinity of a billion; border security over the next five years getting close to $4 billion - what are your thoughts on those?

CREAN: Well, first of all we have got to support the efforts of our troops in their fight against terrorism. But the only new money next year in the Budget for Defence is $107 million, and the charges to families and pensioners for the Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme are going to yield $400 million. What's fair about that? You can't justify a $400 million slug and only give $100 million to fight the war on terror and to protect our borders. This is a Government that's using the flag and the khaki circumstances as justification for slugging Australian families.

Now I'm all for making our borders secure but I'm not for making our families less secure and that's what they're doing.

CARY: Paid Maternity Leave: Natasha Stott-Despoja said today 75 per cent of Australians - I'm not sure where she is gets the figure - but she is saying 75 per cent of Australians support the notion. You do, I know. In the first Budget will you put aside funds to provide for that?

CREAN: We are committed to introducing Paid Maternity Leave for women. We have to sit down, look at the costs, work with all the interested groups to come up with a formula and we will guarantee that small business won't be slugged with the cost. That's very important. Now, secondly, I asked the Prime Minister about this yesterday in the Parliament and he said they are now looking at the costings and are prepared to consider the matter further. Well, I hope they do. Two weeks ago, or three weeks ago, he rejected it out of hand. I'm delighted that in calling for support for Paid Maternity Leave we've forced the Government to start looking at this again.

CARY: Did you think that figure would be as high, 75 per cent? Do you think that's too high?

CREAN: Again, I don't know, I haven't seen what Natasha has quoted. But I'm all for looking at all of the statistics surrounding it; all of the information that surrounds it; looking at the costs; looking at the options.

CARY: Question out of left field just before you finish - we talked a bit about corporal punishment on the program yesterday, teachers having the capacity to hit children. What do you think about that?

CREAN: No, I don't support that and I've said this on previous occasions. I think that discipline is important in schools but allowing teachers to hit children is not the appropriate way to go. It can lead to all sorts of abuses; it's not the direction to go.

CARY: Leader of the Opposition, Simon Crean. Good to talk to you.

CREAN: My pleasure.

Ends.